Thoresby Colliery Band

Thoresby Colliery Band was formed at Edwinstowe in 1948 under the colliery's wing and became a championship-section band. When Thoresby Colliery closed in July 2015 it was the last band in Britain with working deep-pit miners among its players; it kept the colliery's name.

The mining history in this record

After nationalisation the management of Thoresby Colliery, near Edwinstowe in Nottinghamshire, decided to support a band of its own. It began, by tradition, with two men talking on a bus, Arthur Kitchener and Arthur Miller, who became its first secretary and treasurer. Its instruments were hired from Welbeck Colliery Band and its music borrowed from Grimsby Borough Prize Band, and under its first musical director, Fred Oldershaw, it took the name Thoresby Colliery Silver Band.

It won its first contest at Nottingham in March 1951. In 1969, its best year, it took nine first prizes, among them the Midland Area title, the Belle Vue Grand Shield and the Second Section National Championship, and went up to the Championship section; in 2000 it won the National First Section title.

People

Arthur Kitchener and Arthur Miller, founders. Fred Oldershaw, first musical director. William and Stan Lippeatt, musical directors.

Legacy today

When the pit closed in July 2015, with the loss of over 350 jobs, the band was the last in the country with working deep miners in its ranks. The band carried on and kept the name Thoresby Colliery Band to hold on to its mining heritage.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Thoresby Colliery Band was formed at Edwinstowe in 1948, after nationalisation, when the colliery's management decided to support its own band. (documented fact) ^1,2
• Its first instruments were hired from Welbeck Colliery Band and its music came from Grimsby Borough Prize Band; Fred Oldershaw was its first musical director. (documented fact) ¹
• In 1969 it won nine first prizes, including the Second Section National title, and rose to the Championship section. (documented fact) ¹
• It was the last coal-mining band in the country with working deep-pit miners in its ranks, until Thoresby Colliery closed in July 2015. (documented fact) ²
• The band kept the name Thoresby Colliery Band after the pit closed, to keep its link with its mining heritage. (documented fact) ²

Mines

• Thoresby Colliery — Nottinghamshire
  The band was formed in 1948 under the auspices of Thoresby Colliery, and was the last in Britain with working deep miners until the pit closed in 2015.

Sources

1. (secondary) Thoresby Colliery Band — Edwinstowe Historical Society
2. (secondary) The future's bright, the future is orange: Thoresby Colliery Band rejuvenated — 4barsrest

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026